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Front Porch Appeal - June and the Feeling is Groovy June 02, 2024 |
Hello, porch friend! Welcome to Front Porch Appeal! June is the beginning of summer, the month we celebrate Father's Day, summer vacation for the kiddos and flowers galore in the porch garden. In the month of June, we can fully appreciate and enjoy our porches. The weather is ideally warm, but hopefully not simmering hot. The grass is jewel green and the flowers are raving in their beauty. Think back to a time when we'd listen to the radio on our porches. We'd happily play checkers with our grandparents or solve the daily crossword puzzle. Those were the days, my friend! But those activities can still be done today and we love knowing that. Blessed is the family who still enjoys these simple activities.
Rainy Day Here...
As we write this, it's a cool and rainy first day of June. I love it because we can have the windows open in the house and hear the lovely rain in the woods next to us. The rustling of the leaves merges with the steady drumming of water droplets on the tree trunks. Will porch sitting be a part of your day? We enjoyed coffee on our back porch this morning in the misty air, eventually getting shooed in from the damp breezes. Welcome to the month of June! Our newsletters come from our hearts to your home. As we write our newletters each month, we always have you in mind. We wonder if you're enjoying your porch...do you have plans for your porch...are you longing for a porch.
Summer Porch Time
"Summer breeze makes me feel fine." Do you remember that song from Seals and Croft - 1972? We surely do. It's one of those memorable songs we would hear on the radio in the summertime. Thursday, June 20th, is officially the first day of Summer in the northern hemisphere. What signifies summer to you? What comes to mind for us is watermelons, tasty BBQs, watering flowers with a sprinkling can, pool time with family, impromptu picnics at our lake down the road and, of course, leisurely porch time! We will be working this week on getting our front porch ready for summer. Fresh new paint on the rocking chairs, new fabric on the cushions and (my favorite part) new, colorful wall art! In Honor of Dads Everywhere
Father's Day is Sunday, June 16 in the USA. Father’s Day is a special occasion to honor the men who have shaped our lives with their unwavering support and quiet strength. From teaching us life lessons to being our steadfast supporters, dads impart wisdom, resilience, and integrity through their everyday examples. On Father’s Day, we want to say our most sincere thanks to all the wonderful dads out there. Thank you for being amazing role models and for all you teach your children. Thank you for the fun and enjoyable memories you make for your family. Those cherished memories become the foundation of our lives. I remember my Dad taking several of my girlfriends and me to dinner before a school dance. (We didn't have dates.) He got each of us a pretty corsage to wear. Here’s to celebrating Dads! You make a difference every single day. We both had wonderful Dads and we have two sons who are amazing fathers. Happy
Father’s Day, dear Dads! May you be blessed beyond words.
Easy Way to Recover Your Cushions
We have an easy way (that we use all the time) to recover our porch cushions. Because our porch faces west, our cushions fade and become worn-looking after a season in the sun. Consequently, we often switch out the fabric for each season. As you can see, we use our porch blinds; they are a godsend. Now, let us show you our easy method to re-cover porch cushions...
Step 1: Purchase enough fabric to cover your older cushion. Consider how much fabric you'd need to cover your cushion if you were gift wrapping it. We like to buy durable cotton (more heavyweight variety). We usually get the pre-cut fabric at Walmart, but you could go anywhere for it such as JoAnne's, Hobby Lobby, or any store that sells fabric. If you already have fabric in your stash, then use that. Just as a side note...the blue and white checked cushions that we are re-covering here have been used many seasons by using this process. I'm going to guess they are 10 or more years old.
Step 2: So to start, lay out your fabric on a table or the floor. Put your old cushion in the middle of it. Pull up the fabric over one side of the cushion.
Step 3: Continue pulling the fabric from the opposite side over the cushion. Then pin where the two ends meet with safety pins. (It's ok, this will be the back of the cushion and the pins won't show or be felt.) Notice how this cushion has tie strings. I just pull those to either side.They will dangle out for tying to the chair when the cushion is covered.
Step 4: Now, just like wrapping a present, fold in the other two sides.
Step 5: Pin those last two sides. It should look something like this picture. And see how the ties from the original cushion can still be used. They just peek out from the fabric. While they don't match the cushion, it's just a tie and is no big deal.
Step 6: I've turned the cushion over and now it's all done. What do you think? We love this method because no sewing is involved and it's easy to change out the fabric. And honestly, we've never had anyone examine the other side of our cushions to see our fun, easy way of recovering them. And the best part, when you're sitting on them, you wouldn't know either.
What do you think of this method? I used to sew new cushion covers in a pillow-case style, meaning you slip the cushion into a pillow-case style cover that I sewed. That seemed quite easy, yet it took time to plan it out and do the sewing. This "pinning" method is very unscientific (ha ha!), but it makes re-covering cushions a breeze. And it still looks nice. Anyone can do it.
Here's another example of re-covering our cushions. In this instance, we covered a full cushion (seat and back), but it's exactly the same method. The only difference is that it takes more fabric. We loved this butterfly pattern and used the extra fabric to make a table top cover for our small stand in between the rocking chairs.
Be Prepared for Storms
We repeat this section from last two month's newsletter as we feel it's that important. So many tornadoes have already struck this year, with countless homes destroyed and lives lost. Storms and tornadoes must be taken seriously; lives and treasured homes are lost every year as a result of storm destruction. We found a storm shelter that incorporates into a porch and honestly, we think it's quite a novel idea. You can learn more about these storm shelters right here.
From Our Treasured Sponsors...We greatly appreciate your support of our treasured sponsors. Each of them is like family to us and we are very proud of their products. They have been with us for a long time!
PCA Products, one of our fine sponsors, takes aluminum screen doors to a new level. Look at this gorgeous, inviting entry way. Please stop by their aluminum screen door gallery for inspiration and to see for yourself what they offer.
Look at this adjustable bed swing from our sponsor, The Porch Store! Taking a nap can be like a vacation with The Porch Store's bed swings. The most wonderful part to us is that the back is adjustable. Put it in the furthest back position so you can nap on your bed swing. Or move it forward, and you can sit and enjoy leisure time on your porch. We've seen these bed swings and they are built with great care, quality and attention to detail.
Imagine living in this beautiful home with an authentic Victorian gingerbread porch. What wonderful and memorable craftsmanship on the balusters and trim.
Till Next Time...
We all live busy lives, so thank you for being in our porch family. We appreciate you. May you enjoy the month of June and the beginning of summertime. We hope you get ample porch time to just enjoy and relax. Sending you best wishes for a wonderful month. See you on the porch. Our best always, Mary and Dave  |
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